Juventus return to the Europa League’s opening phase tonight with more than a European fixture at stake: NEC Nijmegen arrive in Turin at a moment when the club need to restore both authority and calm after an unsettling start to the season.
Juventus v NEC Nijmegen: A European Night to Reset the Season
SEO Title: Juventus seek response against NEC Nijmegen in Europa League
SEO Description: Juventus begin their Europa League campaign against NEC Nijmegen, with Luciano Spalletti seeking a convincing response after the defeat at Sassuolo.
Background
Antonio Conte posters have long been part of Turin’s football landscape, visible beneath the city’s porticoes and in some of its best-known pastry shops. They tend to return to public attention whenever Juventus fail to win, and the mood has been sharpened by a difficult summer.
The club saw Champions League qualification slip away in the final run-in to Roma and Como, while Damien Comolli departed. Questions have also been raised over elements of the squad assembled during the summer, even if the work at Continassa has been ongoing since early July with close attention to the financial side of the project.
Luciano Spalletti has not been left exposed by the ownership. His relationship with John Elkann remains strong, while Giovanni Carnevali has backed him and Frederic Massara involved him in transfer planning. The coach had questioned his own position at the end of last season, only to be defended and retained by the club shortly after signing a new contract.
Yet Juventus is never a place where patience can be separated from results. Continuity is valued, but victory remains the basic expectation, particularly in front of an Allianz Stadium crowd accustomed to seeing the side impose itself.
What happened before NEC
- Juventus opened the campaign unevenly, with the defeat at Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium standing out as their most troubling performance under Spalletti, who has been in charge since late October 2025.
- The absences of Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram contributed to a loss of control in Reggio Emilia, leaving the team unusually disjointed.
- Attention now turns to NEC Nijmegen, who finished third in last season’s Eredivisie and arrive as a respected, attack-minded Dutch opponent rather than a traditional European giant.
- Nearly 40,000 supporters are expected in Turin, taking the stadium close to capacity for Juventus’s first appearance in the Europa League league phase since 2010-11, when Luigi Delneri was coach.
A Competition With Its Own Weight
Juventus are regarded among the natural contenders for the trophy, and there is a practical value behind a deep run. Lifting the Europa League in Frankfurt would secure a place in the following season’s Champions League, a route that carries particular significance after the frustrations of the previous campaign.
The immediate task, though, is less about calculating May and more about producing a convincing evening in September. A clear win, potentially with several goals, would help remove the sense of an early crisis and give the group a firmer footing in Europe.
Spalletti’s Selection Questions
Spalletti is expected to push Weston McKennie’s recovery in an attempt to strengthen his options. He has also left open the possibility of changing shape, with a 3-4-2-1 considered as a more protective solution. A 4-3-3 remains another option if Juventus want greater substance in midfield.
The coach has given little away regarding his attacking choices. Rotation could create an opportunity for Nick Woltemade to make his first Juventus start. The tall German forward, noted for his thick hair, offers a different profile in the area.
Randal Kolo Muani could instead be suited to a match in which NEC leave room behind their defensive line. The Dutch side’s tendency to commit players forward may give Juventus the open spaces in which his running can matter.
For Spalletti, the evening is an opportunity to reconnect a side that lost its bearings at Sassuolo with the expectations that surround Juventus. In Turin, European nights are rarely just fixtures; they are tests of whether a team can carry the club’s demand to win.
